In view of complaints by the People’s Secretariat of
friction which has arisen between you and the Central
Executive Committee of the
Ukraine,[1] I request you to inform
me of your side of the matter. Naturally our interference
in the internal affairs of the Ukraine, unless required by
military necessity, is undesirable. It is more proper to
have the various measures adopted through the local
authorities, and in general it is best to settle all
misunderstandings on the spot.

Notes

[1]The telegram was sent to V. A. Antonov-Ovseyenko in connection
with the complaint lodged against him with Lenin by the
Ukrainian Central Executive Committee of Soviets. Antonov-Ovseyenko
had appointed commissars from his staff to the railway stations
and several towns of the Donets Basin, without agreeing this
with the local organs, which had aroused the dissatisfaction
of the Ukrainian authorities.

Antonov-Ovseyenko took steps to eliminate the friction upon
receipt of the telegram and letter from Lenin (see p. 474) and
recalled his commissars.